Pfizer and GSK to battle for share of new RSV vaccine market

With UK pharma major GSK (LSE; GSK) last month becoming the first to gain US Food and Drug Administration approval of a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine with its Arexvy in May, following swiftly by the approval of US pharma giant Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) option Abrysvo, the battle ground is set for dominance in the sector.

The European Commission (EC) has also approved GSK’s Arexvy. Despite these landmark approvals, GSK’s dominance in the untapped RSV vaccine space is under threat, says data and analytics company GlobalData.

"While Arexvy was first to gain US approval, which marked the first time a vaccine was authorized for use against RSV in any population, anywhere in the world, Pfizer's Abrysvo was approved by the FDA quickly after, allowing sufficient time for both vaccines to be available for US launch around the same time this fall, prior to the winter RSV season, noted GlobalData pharma analyst Nancy Jaser, adding: “Therefore, GSK is not likely to experience a significant first-mover advantage for market share in the US. However, Arexvy may still benefit from a first-mover advantage in the EU as Pfizer's Abrysvo has yet to gain approval for use by the EC. A decision is expected later this year."